AREAS OF EXPERTISEEffective Listening/ELA Preparation/Curriculum DevelopmentUse of Manipulative/Technology Integration/Learning CentersLiterature Circle/Interactive Games/PhonicsTeam Teaching/Writer’s WorkshopQUALIFICATIONS• 6 years of teaching experience in Business English, English As a Second Language (ESOL), and English Literature. • Creative professional skilled in engaging a diverse student population.• Experienced in developing innovative approaches to English composition for African American and Hispanic populations in particular.• Worked collaboratively across academic disciplines (History, the Fine Arts) to expand the learning environment.• Gifted communicator with presentation and interpersonal skills tested in the workplace.

CAREER ACHIEVEMENTS• 25 year certificate of Excellence in teaching English from the Rochester City School District.• Created programs integrating the language and performance arts for students at risk, with focus on African-American and Hispanic student populations.• Successfully produced and published a community Newsletter in collaboration with 20 suspended 9th graders.• Expanded literary texts to include an in depth exploration of African and African-American literature in freshman composition classes.

TEACHING EXPERIENCETeacher 09/1994 – 06/2006Rochester City School District Rochester, NY• Developed innovative Language Arts programs to engage students at risk (especially African-Americans, Hispanics and the economically at risk).• Designed curriculum to help recently arrived non-native speakers learn Standard English through their cultural frame of reference.• Created a writing and reading comprehension for 9th graders placed outside the mainstream educational environment• Combined the disciplines of Physical Education, the performance values of Dance and the African-American oral/literary tradition to develop a curriculum for students at risk in Rochester, NY.• Collaborated with expelled students from a Rochester High School to successfully create a newsletter derived from the surrounding community.